First, the Foreign Minister commended the Government of Myanmar for inviting members of the diplomatic corps as well as the media to attend the trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi today (20 May).

          Second, the Foreign Minister further added that three representatives from the embassies of Thailand, as Chair of the ASEAN; Singapore, as dean of the diplomatic corps to Myanmar; and Russia, as a member of the United Nations Security Council; were invited to visit Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at her accommodation inside the Insein compound following the proceedings. The representative from the Thai embassy conveyed Foreign Minister Kasit’s concern over her health, of which the Foreign Minister is pleased to learn that she was well. Moreover, the Thai representative reiterated Thailand’s wish to see peace, reconciliation, and democracy in Myanmar including the release of all political detainees, as reflected in interviews given by both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister as well as the statement recently issued by Thailand as Chair of the ASEAN.

          The Foreign Minister noted that the Thai Ambassador to Myanmar will meet with Myanmar’s Foreign Minister tomorrow (21 May) and that the Foreign Minister himself will have several opportunities to meet with his Myanmar counterpart during the 9th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministerial Meeting (FMM9) in Hanoi as well as the 17th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting in Phnom Penh to further discuss the situation in Myanmar.

          While it is encouraging that the Myanmar Government had allowed members of the diplomatic corps and the media to attend the hearings as well as arranged for the meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Thailand hoped that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political detainees would be released, thus contributing towards the process of national reconciliation and democratization in Myanmar.